Horse grinding his teeth while being schooled!!!

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tracyandtokyo

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I have a very green TB youngster who is starting his schooling :) he goes well apart from being very sharp and the odd napping, but one question when i really start working him, he grinds his teeth? It is the most ANNOYING thing ever, it winds me up so badly! any reasons why he does this? or how i can stop him? or if anyone elses horse does this? lol! he is in a loose ring snaffle and he does not have a flash, i wont put one on him as i prefer him without one but does he need one to stop it?! helpppp please i have absoloutley no idea what to do but grr it angers me lol! all you can hear is him grinding his teeth throughout our session!:confused:
 
i used to have a TB that used to grind his teeth when he was being worked, usually through enjoyment it seemed - he often did it during showjumping jumpoffs too, when i entered the arena

maybe get their teeth checked anyway to check any problems?? obviously it will cause his teeth to wear down faster, but i don't think it is a major issue IMO (although the noise is annoying i agree!!)
 
i think he does enjoy his work, im almost certain he does :) but its sooooooo frustrating!! like just wondered if it can be 'fixed' ha!
he had his teeth done in sept and they were ok
 
My TB does this. He seems to do it when concentrating or when cross. Only really does it on the flat &, thankfully, hasn't ever done it during a dressage test. I've learnt to just ignore it as it doesn't seem to affect his work. If he's doing it out of anger/frustration it seems to stop once I do something different with him. As an example, if we are working on his left leg yield & he starts grinding his teeth, I'll stop leg yielding & do some canter work then go back to the leg yeild once he's settled. As he's schooling has improved the teeth grinding has got less too.

FWIW, mine goes in a hanging cheek snaffle with a loose flash noseband. If I tighten the flash he gets v.cross & the grinding is worse.
 
My instructor says he is doing it becuase im taking charge of him (he is a very dominent horse over me!) so it could be that? sometimes he is worse then other days like today we did lots of canter work and he wasnt this bad? but does it wear off for other peoples horses?
he does it when we work on the trot x
 
My TB mare does the same!

She is only in a loose ring snaffle but I do wear a flash on her. I have recently changed to a neue schule loose ring bit and she is a bit better in this.

I find that she does this when she doesn't find some of our flatwork easy (or disagree's with me!), I have to work her though this and she then relax's her jaw and stops grinding and then she goes lovely, this is a routine for us, you would think she would have learnt by now but hey ho :rolleyes:

She also does this in excitement, she knows when she goes in the arena (dressage or SJ) or to the start box its competition time, although still annoying I cant get too frustrated as she just wants to do her job :D

I wish she didn't do this as she goes tense but she always has and always will :)

If you find a solution with your horse, let me know!
 
tracyandtokyo said:
Wonder if its a TB thing?! anyone got a different breed that does it too?
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Yes. Saw an international dressage rider at a show quite recently rub saddle soap on her horses teeth before going into the ring, to mask the sound of it during her test. Her horse was a warmblood. I posted about it on here at the time but the thread ended up being removed. This is not something I'm recommending however, just to be clear!
 
As he is young and green it may be an idea to give him some quiet time with regards to his work, he may be tense because he is finding work hard and my first course of action would be to (after trotting him up!) hack him out- gently- and turn him out as much as poss. See if the issues improve and if not investigte further.

It is not just a TB thing, others do it too.

:)
 
I used to ride a pony who did this but usually only when we had a difference in opinion about what speed we were going (when out hunting) and he occasionally did in the school but not consistently. Think of it another outlet of tension like tail seishing.
 
I used to ride a pony who did this but usually only when we had a difference in opinion about what speed we were going (when out hunting) and he occasionally did in the school but not consistently. Think of it as another outlet of tension like tail swishing.
 
Agree with Allover. If he's very young and green, I wouldn't be doing quite as much so soon, perhaps just a bit too much pressure at the moment? When you say 'his teeth were ok' in Sept, was that once they were rasped? Having had several young TBs, I've found that their teeth can grow rapidly and I've had the dentist out every 4 months until their mouths have settled down.
 
Kali does this . . . usually when he's disagreeing with something or finding something difficult . . . I just work him through it. His back/saddle/teeth are checked regularly. Oh, and he's not a youngster - and he doesn't just do it under saddle . . . if I'm taking too much time preparing his feed, for example, he'll pace in his stable and grind his teeth. I put it down to just him being him.

P
 
My 9 yo tb x id mare does it too. I've tried various bits from an incredibly gentle Nathe french link to currently a loose ring NS team up bit but it's made no difference. I've put it down to annoyance/frustration at being asked to work as once she's going well, the grinding usually stops.
 
My wee TB mare does this from time to time. I was certain it was an anxiety thing as she does it when you ask too much of her (in her eyes) in flatwork and totally takes it to another level when jumping - think scrapping nails down blackboard!! Ive heard her doing it in the paddock too. Worryingly she was doing it quite a lot on my hack on Monday just tottling along on the buckle at walk grinding her teeth???
 
PolarSkye said:
Kali does this . . . usually when he's disagreeing with something or finding something difficult . . . I just work him through it. His back/saddle/teeth are checked regularly. Oh, and he's not a youngster - and he doesn't just do it under saddle . . . if I'm taking too much time preparing his feed, for example, he'll pace in his stable and grind his teeth. I put it down to just him being him.

P
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Oh, and forgot to say, he's in a regular cavesson noseband, a french link snaffle and no flash - he goes in a waterford when jumping but doesn't do it then (he much prefers jumping to flat work) . . . but as he also does it when untacked I doubt it's his bit/bridle.
 
My oldenburg does it (has a lot of tb in him ;) ) when he's excited or stressed. He also does it when cooling off, not sure why. It used to drive me bananas, but its a lot less frequent no so I just try to ignore it :)
 
I had a little Connemara x TB x Arab mare that used to do this.
Like your instructor mentioned she mainly did it when I had got her doing what I wanted after she'd been trying to get out of it.
It's a sign of tension and marked down in dressage so there's all the gum bits and bit butters out there to try and stop it. Along with strapping their mouth shut with flash straps.
However as ever they are short cuts.
I don't think it matters if they do it from time to time training, some when they're concentrating, others like my mare when they're frustrated, some do it when scared. Over chewing can be a sign of tension rather than relaxation that so many NH people point to.
Also some horses get splash type ulcers when ridden which I believe the teeth grinding has been linked to.
So as long as it's not for all of every ride I wouldn't worry.
If you can figure out why then treat it as such.
With my mare we made sure to complete the movement we'd been aiming for praise her, then move on to something she found fun before returing for another go at the first movement so she didn't get stuck in her annoyed mode.
Hope that makes some sort of sense.
 
My ISH (half TB) does it when excited or stressed....albeit it's pretty much the only sign of being excited or stressed that he shows. He's mainly done it cantering in company pr when the horses he's out with have been playing up .....he's also a windsucker, and I'm wondering if the two are connected (ie. a stress relief mechanism).
 
Allover said:
As he is young and green it may be an idea to give him some quiet time with regards to his work, he may be tense because he is finding work hard and my first course of action would be to (after trotting him up!) hack him out- gently- and turn him out as much as poss. See if the issues improve and if not investigte further.

It is not just a TB thing, others do it too.

:)
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This is sound advice from Allover - its not just a horse thing I grind my teeth when I am stressed! lol
 
My horse occasionally does this to show he is annoyed, so when you are asking him to do something he finds hard work or just when he is throwing a strop.
Will also do it when in the stable if tacking up or bothering him when he is in a mood (putting rug on or asking him to move over).
Had all checks done, its just his way of showing when he is grumpy I think.
 
I had a teeth-grinder who stoppped doing it when I got the dentist out to take care of sharp edges and I switched him from a single-jointed snaffle with cheeks to a Waterford mountpiece with cheeks to accommodate his fleshy tongue.
 
My ex-racer grinds his teeth. I always put it down to anxiety as he can start it when I put his bridle on. He isn't worked particularly hard either! He wind sucks too and I wondered as well if they were related. I do make sure never to do any work with him on an empty stomach.
 
Meant to add that he is a real sweet natured and willing lad so I don't think it is grumpiness, but I don't know whether it's him worrying or something else. His teeth have been done.
 
Teeth grinding is, or should be, harshly marked down in dressage and is a sign of tension, not at all specific to TB's. Can be linked to discomfort, but more usually manifested when a horse feels under pressure, i.e. when asked to perform a movement the horse finds difficult. Not usually directly linked to the mouth per se.
 
Our yard is having the dentist out to do the horses so think i may get him to have a look at Tokyo then.
He does not do it all the ride, but as i ride him more i understand he does it more when i am asking him to do something he does not want to do.
I have ruled out any pain, as he has almost weekly physio following up a lameness issue (sound now, just needs following up!)
I will though follow some advice and back down from the schooling and hack him twice a week and give him a day or two off. He gets turned out from 9am, til about 1.30 (he hates being out ankle deep in mud, with no grass and usually rain!) If he continues to do it after i start hacking him and backing down from schooling, ill investigate further! Although it does seem it is a TB thing!!!
Thanks for all help, much appriciated!!!
 
PoppyAnderson said:
Yes. Saw an international dressage rider at a show quite recently rub saddle soap on her horses teeth before going into the ring, to mask the sound of it during her test. Her horse was a warmblood. I posted about it on here at the time but the thread ended up being removed. This is not something I'm recommending however, just to be clear!
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My horse does it occasionally. My dressage instructor recommended doing the above or putting in tooth paste in his mouth. He stopped doing it so I never got around to trying it. My wee horse is now back into work and started doing it again so I might give it a go.
 
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